chapter 9

Blood rushed to her cheeks and roared in her eyes as she gripped the pillowcase into fists. Iris never considered that anyone would sink this low. She had honestly thought that the ever-so Royal Five members would at the very least keep their bullying tendencies on the school ground.

While Iris was drowning in her rage, Orion stepped closer examine her. It wasn’t a leer, she noticed, he didn’t let his eyes linger on her chest, hips, or legs. Instead, he watched her in a similar way a scientist would look at their experiments or how a mathematician would look at a problem they were struggling with.

It made Iris shiver.

“Look at you,” Orion said, walking around her, eerily reminiscent of how he prowled around Tom Radcliffe two weeks ago. Unlike Radcliffe, Iris wasn’t going to stand there with a bowed posture and shivering shoulders.

“Look at me,” she mocked, swing on arms in a grand gesture.

“Well, I am.” Orion shrugged. “I must say, I quite like what I’m seeing. Who knew that you could look this good?”

Iris frowned with confusion. “What?”

“Oh, come on! Don’t think I didn’t see you admiring yourself in the mirror. I would advise that you keep in mind that what you look like now isn’t what you actually look like. But what can I say? Money changes even the ugliest of ducklings into beautiful swans.”

Iris flinched when Orion placed his hands on her shoulders from behind. He turned her around to face the full-length mirror once again. “Look at us,” he whispered in her ear, “Do we not look magnificent together?”

Iris could admit - and only ever to herself - that at that moment she could why people were drawn to Orion.

His tuxedo clung to him in a way only a designed suit would. It made his already broad shoulders seem bigger and his waist seem thinner. The suit was the exact shade of green as her dress with golden patterns swirling at the ends of the jacket. He had small golden hoop earrings in his earlobes and a matching watch on his right wrist. Her eyes flickered over her form once again.

They looked good together, like a couple on the red carpet.

Iris turned from their reflection and towards Orion, only to see him already looking down at her. They watched each other for a moment - what was he thinking about?- before he broke eye contact.

Orion strutted away and sat on the foot of the bed with the elegance of a king sitting on a throne. Iris followed his every move.

Iris couldn’t wrap her mind around what was happening. Nothing about this entire scenario made sense

“So, let me get this straight,” Iris started, her voice betraying how utterly ridiculous she found this thing that was happening. “You bully my friend-”

“I heard it was ex-friend, seeing as she no longer talks to you.”

Iris rolled her eyes, her grip on the pillow tightening. “Of course you knew. I stand up against you, ruining a shirt I am sure you have multiple of -”

“I don’t, actually. I never buy two things that are identical.”

“And yet you buy shoes!”

Iris’s patience was running thin and Orion clearly knew that, if the smile on his face was any indicator.

She continued. “Next day, you seek me out, you insult me. Yet again, I stand up to you -”

“No, no, little liar. You insulted me back.”

“- and your idea to get back at me was to kidnap me? Dress me up and play doll with me?”

“Yes,” Orion said with a smile.

Iris nodded her head silently.

She raised the pillow and released a war cry.

“Shit!” Orion yelped. He lept back onto the bed and Iris followed him, the beauty products rattling as she hit every available spot of Orion’s body.

“You crazy woman!” Orion yelled as he rolled off the bed, disorientated. His once neat curls were messy and his movements were as he pulled himself together.

Iris stood on the bed, her styled straight hair frizzing around her face. She raised the pillow and glared at him with a look that promised vengeance.

“You kidnapped me and I’m crazy?” she shouted and jumped off the bed and continued hitting him. Orion tried to dodge the blows by helplessly throwing his arms in front of his body.

It didn’t help as Iris refused to show him any mercy. “You! Kidnapped! Me!” she continued to shout and swing. “You sent two big men after me! To drug me! Drag me here all because you wanted to dress me up! You traumatised me! Now you have the audacity to stand there and call me crazy?!” Iris growled and swung one last time, ensuring that Orion would have multiple visible bruises.

It was silent. Both of them were breathing heavily, chests heaving as they watched each other: Orion was cautious and Iris might as well have green lasers shooting from her eyes.

“Are you done?” Orion snarled.

Iris would’ve been if he hadn’t spoken.

She dug into the pillowcase and threw the first cylinder she found. Orion dodged to the left, narrowly missing the can of what she now knew to be hairspray

“You missed - Ouch!”

“No, I didn’t,” Iris said smugly as Orion rubbed at the spot in the middle of his brows. “You should consider yourself lucky I didn’t have my keys. Otherwise, I would have done to you what I did to your hired henchmen.”

“I heard,” Orion said. “Honestly speaking, out of the two of us, you should be the one considering yourself lucky.”

“Why? I’m the innocent here.”

“Besides assaulting me without being provoked -”

“- Again, you literally kidnapped me. I would call that being provoked.”

Orion ignored her. “You stabbed him with your keys leaving at least more than five wounds on his person. You are very lucky no one is pressing charges.”

Iris couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation. “Seriously? What, he couldn’t afford medical insurance? Doesn’t that just tell you that you aren’t paying him properly?”

Orion just shrugged with a smirk and picked at his nails.

“Fine,” Iris said. “Drag me to court. I would love to tell them about your bullying habits as well as your tendency to kidnap young teenage girls. And, just to make sure they get the whole story, I will be sure to include that this entire thing started because I refused to lick up ice cream from your shoe nad you got offended because I made fun of your genitalia. I’m sure your case will hold especially when millions of people will be on my side because someone is finally eating the rich.”

Orion appeared to be unaffected but Iris somehow knew he wasn’t because what she said was true. Twitter may have been a breeding grounds of exposing the toxicity of mankind - goodness knows how many people used the app for hateful things - but was also the quickest way to spread information and, if necessary, rally up the people against the upper-upper classmen. And seeing as how many people are of the mindset of eating the rich, Iris knew that she wouldn’t be walking into this defenceless.

Besides, Iris knew he was bluffing.

“So, how about we skip this charade,” Iris suggested, “and tell me what you want. Because I really doubt you planned this entire spectacle all to dress me up and tell me I look pretty.”

“Although, as beautiful as my money makes you look,” Orion said; Iris rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You are right. You’re here because I wanted to give you a gift.”

“You mean you wanted to bribe me. Why?”

It was Orion’s turn to roll his eyes. “To get rid of you, of course.”

That’s when everything clicked into place.

“How low of you,” Iris hissed with a sneer. She could’ve sworn Orion flinched. “You put me through an absolutely traumatising experience. Do you even understand how afraid I was? How terrifying? I thought I was going to die or be tortured or raped or sold to a sex traffic ring. I thought I would never see my parents again.” Iris was near tears. “All of that terror? All for a stinking bribe?”

Iris didn’t stop with talking as she moved closer towards Orion. “You didn’t even the dignity to keep this school ground feud on the school grounds. All because I had the self-respect to not let you walk all over me. Honestly, doesn’t that tell you what kind of person you are?”

Iris was crying, cheeks streaked with tears as they washed away the makeup with mascara. She couldn’t control the sob that worked up into her throat. “You are the most awful human being I have ever had the displeasure of meeting.”

Orion wasn’t looking at her. He was glaring at the wall with a clenched jaw. “I would be very careful with what you say next.”

Iris pulled the rings from her fingers, tugged the earrings off, unclasped the necklace and fiddled with the top of her dress. She stepped into his line of sight and met his eyes with a scowl. “Or what?” she challenged through her tears. “You’re going to hit me? Teach me another lesson? Or are you just going to get those henchmen to do it for you?”

Another silence followed as they stared at each other. Iris got up and personal, stepping close enough that she could see that small scar on his brow.

“Now,” she whispered, “I’m going to tell you what you’re going to do. You’re going to show me where my uniform is, you’re going to wait until I’m dressed, then you’re going to escort me out, maybe offer me a ride in one of your fancy cars. You’re going to do all of that while I take all these ‘gifts’ - as you called them, thank you - and you’re not going to stop me.”

Iris was proud of herself for that threat. If Orion reported her for thievery then he would have to admit to being an accomplice. After all, how could poor, orphan Iris Holmes sneak past the Crawfords’ security systems without the help of someone inside?

“You are testing my limits,” Orion hissed through clenched teeth. “I know you think you’re smart but you’re not smart enough to play this game, little Raggedy Anne. The truth is: I always win and no matter what you do, you cannot touch me.”

Iris was unimpressed and her quirked brow made that abundantly clear. With her right hand, she pushed him, hand firmly in the middle of his chest. He didn’t move but the message was sent and received.

“Try me.”